


Three Words Can Change Everything

by brittbritt1997



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Female Reader, Gen, Reader is Tony Stark's Daughter, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-02 00:04:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13306170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittbritt1997/pseuds/brittbritt1997
Summary: You grew up having never known who your father was.  Your mother was especially tight-lipped until one day she changed her mind.  Your whole life changed when you found out Tony Stark was your dad.  Of course, it's not an easy process, openly becoming the daughter of billionaire Tony Stark AKA Iron Man.  Who knows what'll happen next.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published Reader Insert fic. I have however read a ton of them, so I'm pulling from what I've learned from other author's fics to write this. Thank you for choosing my fic to read. I hope you enjoy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony Stark is your dad? How did that even happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter! It's just a hair short of 3,000 words. This is probably the most I've ever written for anything, so... But the words just flowed. I knocked this out over the course of two days, writing in my free time. I hope you enjoy.

Like most other college-aged girls, your life consisted of school, your part-time job, and the occasional socializing.  You didn't really have a ton of friends, you didn't have any siblings, and you weren't close with your mother, so honestly, your social life was made up of going to your professors' office hours and interactions with the cashier at the nearby bodega.  Riveting, right?  At least today you were supposed to receive a call from home.  Your skin was crawling in anticipation; apparently Mom thought you were finally old enough to learn about your dad beyond, "He wouldn't make a good father," and, "This is why you shouldn't get drunk and have one-night stands."  Your mom loved you but resented that you 'took away' her freedom and youth, hence the not being very close to her thing.

Your mom starts the topic of your dad off with, "He doesn't even know you exist.  He would've easily won custody, and I would've never seen you again."  Ignoring how custody agreements even work; your mom is super dramatic.

"I thought you said he wouldn't be a good dad?" you counter, confused.

"Yeah, but he's rich.  Lots of sway with judges, that.  And at the time, I couldn't afford a lawyer while he could've afforded the best," she told you.

"But would he even have wanted me?" you asked.  You didn't know that your mom even knew anyone with lots of money or at one point ran in the same circles as one long enough to get knocked up.  Your grandparents had been middle class, sure, but not the kind of middle class that meant they knew any rich people.

"Probably not, but I couldn't risk it.  He'd probably want to know you now, though.  He's gotten better in recent years."

That just dug the hole of confusion deeper.  "Wait.  Are you still in contact with him?  Do I know him?"  You wouldn't handle the news well if you had known your dad your whole life but didn't know he was your father.

"No, I'm not in contact with him, sweetie, but he sure is on the news an awful lot…"  Maybe a local politician or something?  You honestly almost never watched the news, getting all your information second hand from others.  "It's Tony Stark."

Your mind went blank.

Two days later found you arguing with the worker at the front desk of Stark Tower.

"If you'd like to file a lawsuit against Stark Industries or any of its employees or affiliates, please have your lawyer fax, email, or call the legal department.  I'd be happy to give you the contact information to give to your lawyer before you head on your way," the _very_ unhelpful secretary informed you.

"Look, I don't want to file a lawsuit against anyone, and I can't afford a lawyer.  I'd just like to speak to somebody about my situation," you insisted.  You two had been going at this back-and-forth for at least fifteen minutes now.  You kept getting looks from the four security guards like they thought they'd have to haul you off, but you weren't yelling, so they stayed where they were.  At this point you wished you could just force your way upstairs to the legal department, but you didn't think you'd get very far considering, you know, _four security guards_.

The secretary sighed.  "Look, I'm not allowed to let you up there; _especially_ ," she said pointedly, raising her brows, "since you won't tell me what your 'situation' is."  You opened your mouth to interject, but she cut you off.  " _But_ my cousin told me about a couple of lawyers up in Hell's Kitchen that do some pro bono work, so I'd talk to them and see if you could get somewhere that way.  I'll give you their address."  She scrawled an address on the back of a business card and handed it to you.

"I hope you find what you're looking for."  Here her expression changed to a fake-but-cheery smile.  "Have a nice day, and thank you for stopping by Stark Tower.  We hope you had a pleasant experience," she said, the obviously well-rehearsed words colored by the smile on her face.

"Thank you," you replied.  Next stop, Hell's Kitchen.

Honestly, the trip wasn't too bad.  The neighborhood was kind of run down, but lots of places in Manhattan were after the Battle of New York.  The walk from the subway to the office building wasn't terrible either.  It took you a moment to figure out where their office was in the building.  The door was closed.  What's the etiquette?  Do you knock, or…?  Might as well just walk in.

There was a pretty blonde at the desk who stood and greeted you.  "Hi.  Welcome to Nelson and Murdock; my name's Karen.  How can I help you today?"

"Hi."  You told her your name.  "I guess I'm here about a paternity case?  Or… not really.  I don't want to file any sort of lawsuit, but I needed to speak to a lawyer about my situation," you explained, bungling your words.  You hoped you got your point across.

"Sure.  Foggy- Mr. Nelson is out at lunch, but you can speak with Mr. Murdock?  Would that work for you?"  She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, yeah.  That'd be great.  I- I honestly wasn't expecting to get seen so soon, so I didn't bring anything with me," you admitted.  The butterflies in your stomach ramped up.  You were not prepared at all.  Your hands twisted into knots, rubbing and wringing.

"We just finished a case, so our schedule is free now.  Anyway, don't worry about papers or anything right now.  You can send them our way when we get finished today.  Let me grab Matt, and we can talk more about your case."  She did as she said, knocking on the door to her right and letting Mr. Murdock know he had a client.

Out of the room stepped a dark-haired man wearing a suit and rounded red sunglasses.  He stepped a few feet forward, directed toward you by Karen, and held out his hand to shake.  "Matt Murdock.  A pleasure to meet you."  He smiled toothily at you.

You shook his hand and replied with your name and a quiet, "Likewise."

Karen led the two of you to the conference room where you all took seats at the table.  Matt asked you what you needed legal assistance with, so you told him what you had told Karen.  Then you added, "My mom told me who my birth dad is.  He's not on my birth certificate.  I tried to get ahold of his lawyers at his company, but I was told only another lawyer could do that.  I don't know what to do.  Can you help me?"

Mr. Murdock looked contemplative for a moment, while Karen took notes.  "We have a couple options.  It's been too long for him to sign the Acknowledgement of Paternity form without DNA tests, but if he is willing to get the testing done and it comes back positive, he can sign the form.  Otherwise, we can get a court order for the DNA testing.  Both options would allow your mother to collect back child support."

"My mother and I don't want the back child support.  Would my father have to pay it if we go with those options?" you asked.

"Yes, he would.  In that case, our other option is to have your father legally adopt you; however, that would have to be voluntary on his part."  You hummed in thought.  Who knows if he'd go for it.  "For our records, can we get the name of your father?"

"Anthony Edward Stark," you said softly.  Karen gasped in shock.

Mr. Murdock took the news more calmly.  "I've noticed you don't have your father's last name.  Would you also be wanting to change that?"

"I'm not sure," you told him.  Before you could tell him more, you were distracted by the sound of the office's front door opening.

"Guys, I'm back," a man called.

Karen stood and headed to the door.  "That'll be Mr. Nelson.  Would you want him to join in on the meeting?"

You frowned and looked at your hands.  "Um, I can't really afford one lawyer, let alone two," you admitted to the pair.  At this point, you didn't think you'd ever get to even meet your father.  You hadn't realized how many hoops you would have to jump through for this.

Karen came back to the table to reassure you, placing a hand over your own and giving you a soft look.  "We can work it out, so you can pay what you can."  She smiled softly.  "Don't worry about the cost right now."  She removed her hand and stood up straight.  "So, do you want Foggy to come in?"

"Sure, I guess."

While Karen appraised Mr. Nelson of the situation in the next room, Mr. Murdock asked you some more questions.  "Now, for the case, we need to know your date of birth and your mother's name, as well as your place of birth.  Once we get that information, we can take it to the Stark Industries legal department and try to deal with this out of court.  However, it may be a slow process.  In all likelihood, Mr. Stark frequently deals with a number of false paternity cases due to his celebrity status.  The legal department will most likely want to handle it out of the courts as well, since going to court would require Mr. Stark to appear before a judge in person.  My associate and I will contact them.  I'm expecting that they will want you to visit their office and take an independent DNA test.  If the response from their legal department is unsatisfactory, we can take the case to court.  Did you have any questions at this time?"

"Yeah…  You really believe me?  I wasn't expecting my word to be taken at face value.  It's pretty far-fetched, you know?" you replied, laughing self-deprecatingly.

Mr. Murdock smiled comfortingly at you.  "I trust you're telling the truth."

After that, Karen returned with Mr. Nelson.  You gave Karen the information that Mr. Murdock had said they would need as well as your contact information.  There wasn't much more to go over until they contacted Stark Industries.  The four of you spoke for a few minutes more but wrapped up quickly.  With that, you said goodbye until they called you to come back into the office when they had news.  The trip back to your apartment seemed shorter than the trip there, even though the distance was much longer.  You left more confident than you had been coming in, glad that you were going to (hopefully) see progress soon.

Your apartment was a tiny, cramped thing in a poorer Brooklyn neighborhood.  You pretty much only slept there; the apartment didn't have space for much else.  It was a shoe-box sized studio.  Most of your day was spent around campus or in the nicer neighborhoods nearby; you worked two neighborhoods over since the pay was better and it was close to school.  The parks there were nice; lots of dogs to watch.  You still had half a day left, so you figured you'd head over there after dropping off the papers you got at the lawyers.

It was a warm fall day, and the trees were all manner of beautiful colors.  The park was quieter than usual but not worryingly so.  You decided to walk around and enjoy the fresh air.  The path intersected with another, and you turned a tight left onto the new path, your visibility impeded by bushes and trees.  And that's when it hit you.  Literally.  You ran right into someone.  As you fell flat on your back, the air rushed from your lungs, "Oof."  You braced yourself for the person to fall onto you; they'd been going quite fast.  Surprisingly, though, when the man's hands hit the ground, he pushed up with his legs, tucked, and somersaulted over your head.  He was up on his feet less than twelve seconds later, and you were still dazed on the ground.

"Are you all right, miss?" he asked concerned, offering his hand to help you up.

You took his hand and stood.  "Those were some legit moves, dude!  Like, I was totally expecting you to fall on me, but you didn't?  That was pretty cool.  Yeah, I'm totally fine."  You smiled widely at him.

He flushed a tad, bowing his head and running his hand through his hair.  The smallest hint of a grin on his lips.  "I'm glad to hear that.  I'm sorry for running into you."  Aww, now he was full on blushing.

"It's not your fault; it was entirely mine.  I wasn't looking.  Don't worry about it.  No harm, no foul."  Gosh, could your mouth _please_ stop running.  You brushed off your clothes and realized you hadn't asked.  "Hey, are you okay?  You didn't get hurt either, right?"

His eyes widened, mouth opening the smallest bit.  "Yes."  He shook his head a smidge, just to clear it.  "Yes, I'm fine.  Thank you for asking."  He smiled at you, this time more honestly somehow.

You just _had_ to befriend this guy.  Time to put on the charm.  You thrust your hand out and abruptly said your name.  Yes.  So charming.

He looked at your hand blankly for a second.  Geez, you definitely screwed this up.  You were about to pull back your hand when he took it in his own and shook.  "My name is Steve.  It's nice to meet you."

"Hi, Steve.  Do you live around here?" you asked.  You were still shaking his hand.  Maybe now would be a good time to stop, but you'd dug your hole to deep.  You'd just have to keep shaking hands until eternity; this was your life now.

He chuckled at how you were still shaking hands and let yours go.  Finally.  Now pretend that never happened.  He replied, "Yeah.  I live nearby.  You?"  You wondered what kind of job he had to live in this nice a neighborhood.

"I work in the area.  My apartment's a couple neighborhoods over."  You gestured vaguely behind you in the direction of your neighborhood.  Even though you were the one who started this line of conversation, you realized you probably shouldn't tell him any more about where you live or work.  Stranger Danger and all.  This man didn't look creepy; honestly, he seemed like a puppy in human form, but you never knew these days.  You opened your mouth to speak again, but you were cut off by your phone ringing.

You checked it.  It was the lawyers' office.  That was quick, and you really wanted to see what they were calling about, but you were in the middle of a conversation.  It would be rude to answer.  "I'm so sorry," you apologized to Steve.  "It's my lawyers.  I'll just call them back later."

Steve shook his head.  "No, it's fine.  I have to get back to my run anyway.  I hope to see you around again."  His smile this time was sheepish.  "Have a nice day."  He nodded and jogged away.

There were over two million people in this borough alone.  How were you ever supposed to just run into him again?  (Maybe this time not so literally.)  You sighed.  You really should've gotten his phone number.  Speaking of phones…

Karen had left a voicemail asking you to call their office back whenever convenient.  You guessed now was convenient enough.  Karen picked up on the third ring.

"Nelson and Murdock, Karen speaking.  How may I help you?" she asked cheerfully.

"Hi, Karen."  You told her it was you.  "You said you needed me to call back?"  You hoped it was good news.  You honestly didn't know what kind of news they'd have gotten after only four and a half hours, though. 

"Yeah, Matt spoke to a colleague of his that works for Stark Industries.  His colleague is willing to meet with you and Matt at Stark Industries to talk about further steps, but he can only clear up space in his schedule tomorrow.  Otherwise, you'd have to wait a few weeks."  She sounded apologetic at the late notice.

You thought over your schedule for this week.  You had two classes tomorrow, but they weren't anything you couldn't miss for something this important.  You'd get the notes from a classmate.  "I can be there tomorrow.  What time should I meet with Mr. Murdock?  And where?"  Hopefully, he could meet you at Stark Tower.  It'd be a long day if you had to travel all the way to Hell's Kitchen just to backtrack to Stark Tower.

"Matt says that he can meet you at Stark Tower, but you two would need to come back to the office after the meeting to discuss any findings."  She paused, and you heard the rustle of paper.  "Yes, the meeting time tomorrow would be 10 A.M."

"That works for me.  Thank you so much for all that you're doing.  Please tell Mr. Murdock thank you for me as well," you said gratefully.  This was good news; everything was going much faster than you thought it would.

"I will.  Have a good day, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you.  You too.  Goodbye," you said and hung up the phone.  You buried your face in your hands and let out a muffled squeal.  You couldn't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in the tags, you'll see I have this marked as Gen. It's because I haven't decided on a pairing yet or at all. Let me know what you think! I know that it may seem like somethings going on there with Steve, but nothing's set in stone. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about Steve x Reader. I'm also open to Femslash, so don't limit your pairings here.
> 
> Please leave a kudos and a comment! I read and reply to every comment I receive; they're much appreciated. Let me know what you liked/didn't like, if you have any constructive criticism, or if there is anything you'd like to see in the future. Thanks so much for reading. Next chapter will be up soon as I've already started writing it; subscribe to the story if you'd like a notification when it's up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Stark Tower again, and then one more time. And who is that? Is that Steve? So strange running into him here. And you finally get to meet your dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little shorter than the last, but it came to a really good stopping point, so I didn't want to stretch it out. I will try to make the next chapter a couple hundred words longer to make up for it. I hope you enjoy!

The next morning had you showing up at Stark Tower.  You _may_ be just a _bit_ too early.  Being there at 9:15 for a 10:00 appointment wasn't weird right?  No, you were totally fine.  The secretary remembered you from yesterday; you think she looked a bit panicked when she saw you walk in.  You just ignored her and went to grab a drink from the coffee shop attached to the lobby.  Having something to drink would calm your nerves.  At least, that's what you hoped; in reality, it probably meant you'd end up having to pee _three_ times before your appointment instead of two.  Anxiety sucks.

By the time you got your drink, found a chair, and got out your phone it was almost 9:30.  Not bad.  Even though your phone was out and on, you spent the next twenty minutes people watching until Mr. Murdock arrived.  You saw quite a few tourists in that time.  You hadn't realized how many people came to try and see the Avengers.  You heard a lot about them from classmates and acquaintances, but you really didn't know that much beyond the gossip you were told.  You didn't even know what any of them looked like besides your father.  Hm…  That's kind of a gap in your New York City knowledge.  Should probably rectify that.  You had heard Captain America came back from the dead to be on the team, which was honestly pretty cool.

Remembering that Mr. Murdock wouldn't notice you were there made you stand and walk over to him.  "Hello, Mr. Murdock.  Thank you for getting this appointment set up for me.  I really appreciate it," you said to him.

"It's no problem," he replied, smiling.  "It's better to get this sorted out sooner rather than later.  If we need to take it to court, it will be much harder after you turn 21," he informed you.  You hadn't known that.  Good thing you found out about this now, then.  "Before we can meet with my colleague, though, we have to be issued visitor's badges at the front desk and go through security.  Our actual meeting is at 10:30, so we'll make it through in plenty of time."

"Oh, okay.  Awesome.  Is there anything I should be prepared for during the meeting?"  You didn't even know what to expect today.  Paperwork?  A DNA test?  You hoped you'd at least get told something instead of being told nothing could be done.

"Yes.  Mr. Stark's lawyers have a set process to handle paternity cases; however, your case is more unusual.  Typically, they have expecting mothers claiming their child is Mr. Stark's.  My colleague informed me that this may speed up the process as all they'll need to take is a cheek swab for the paternity test.  He said we can likely get this accomplished today," Mr. Murdock informed you.  He seemed calm about the whole thing; maybe you could be too.

He paused for a moment to let you absorb the information.  He continued, "The test results take about two days to process since they do it on site.  If it does come back positive, your file will get passed onto a more senior member of the SI legal team, and we'll go from there.  How does that sound?"

You broke into a large smile.  Everything seemed clear and straightforward.  It seemed you'd get this problem cleared up quite quickly.  Getting through security took almost no time, the meeting and cheek swab went quickly, and even the after meeting at Nelson and Murdock was speedy.  By the time you returned to your apartment, you came to a realization that caused your stomach to sink.  You now had to play a waiting game.  At least two whole days until Mr. Murdock would get back to you on your next meeting time and then who knows how long until your next meeting with SI's lawyers.

The next two days left you plenty of time to stew in your anxiety.  What if Mr. Murdock thought you were wasting his time and dropped you as a client?  What if the paternity test came back negative?  You couldn't handle it.  You ended up dropping the ball a couple of times at work and even forgot about a homework assignment you had due.  You were relieved when the call came from the lawyers asking for you to come into the office.

The entire trip you kept wondering what the DNA test result was and hoping with every bit of you that it came back-

"Positive.  You're definitely Tony Stark's kid," Mr. Nelson told you.  "This is great news.  Matt has more information on where we go from here.  Matt?"  Everyone seemed so happy for you, including Mr. Nelson, even though he hadn't been a huge part of the case so far.

Mr. Murdock took Mr. Nelson's cue to begin speaking.  "This is a big deal to the lawyers at Stark Industries, so they wanted us to come in as soon as possible to discuss what this means for everyone involved.  If your schedule if free, we can leave for Stark Tower from here.  Their lawyers have some paperwork they're going to want you to fill out.  They will also want your mother's contact information; I've been told she needs to sign a temporary non-disclosure agreement so that the news doesn't get out until a press release is made public."

"Oh no…"  You said quietly, bowing your head and putting your face in your hands.

Mr. Nelson and Karen looked concerned.  "Is something wrong?" Karen asked softly, leaning toward you.

"I forgot that he's a celebrity.  I don't think I can deal with public attention."  Although you found out Tony Stark was your dad, you forgot in the process that he's _Tony Stark_.  If it got out that you’re his daughter, you'd never have a moment of peace from the press.

Mr. Nelson looked to Mr. Murdock then turned back to you.  "We can advocate for this to all stay as quiet as possible.  The lawyers at Stark Industries are already under non-disclosure agreements, so none of this information has to go public.  There never needs to be a press release.  Matt was telling me you wanted to go the adoption route to get Stark on your birth certificate, right?"  You nodded silently.  "All right.  Well, all adoption records are sealed in the state of New York; even you wouldn't be able to access your own without a court order, so there's no possibility of the press digging it up either."

You let out a long breath of relief.  "Thank you.  That's very reassuring."

Mr. Nelson nodded.  "Yeah.  No problem.  Did you have any questions, or are you ready to head over to Stark Tower?"

"No, no.  I'm ready.  Let's go."

Mr. Nelson, Mr. Murdock, and you took a taxi to Stark Tower.  Karen stayed behind to watch the office, in case anyone showed up.  The lobby was quiet.  People were coming and going, but there were no tourists loitering like last time.  There were only a couple people sitting in the lobby; most were sitting in the attached coffeeshop.  One of the people in the lobby was familiar, though.  He had a ballcap pulled low on his head, but you recognized him anyway.  Mr. Murdock and Mr. Nelson were headed to the front desk to check in, so you pulled away to walk over to the blond man.

"Steve?" you asked.  He looked up, and you had been right about who it was.  "What a strange coincidence."  You giggled at your stroke of luck.  "Are you here on business too?"  You didn't know what else to classify your visit as.  You took another step closer.

Steve had a strange look on his face; no emotion you recognized.  He stood to talk to you; then he clarified your name, making sure he remembered correctly.  When you nodded that he had it right, he continued.  "Yeah, I'm here for something like that.  No lasting damage from that tumble the other day, right?"

You laughed.  "No, I didn't even end up with a single bruise.  How about you?"

He had a wry grin on his face.  "I was fine.  Even if I hadn't been, I heal quickly."  That sounded like a joke or a reference, but you didn't get it.  Oh well, just smile and pretend.

"That's good."  Before you could say more, Mr. Nelson came over to you.

"They're ready for us upstairs," Mr. Nelson said, looking at you.  When he turned his head to look at your conversation partner, his mouth dropped open a little.

"Okay," you said to Mr. Nelson before turning back to Steve.  You gave him an apologetic look.  "Sorry, Steve.  I've got to go," you said.  Another conversation gone by without learning how to get in contact with this guy.  You let out a mental sigh.

"It's okay," he reassured, smiling.  "The person I'm meeting up with is here now anyway."  He tilted his head in the direction of a pretty red-head.  "I hope your meeting goes well."

"Thank you.  Yours too.  Bye."  You gave a little wave as you and Mr. Nelson walked away.  When you reached the scanners, you looked back to see the red-head playfully nudge Steve and cause him to blush.  You wondered what she said to him.

You decided to make small talk with Mr. Nelson as you went through security.  "That was Steve.  He and I met the other day when we ran into each other at the park.  Literally."

Mr. Nelson let out a dazed, "Mhm," as he passed through a scanner.  You wondered what had him acting so weird and pondered it throughout your elevator ride.

The three of you exited the elevator into another, smaller lobby.  The secretary at the desk stood and greeted you, saying you were expected.  You followed behind Mr. Nelson leading Mr. Murdock as you were guided to an office by the secretary.  When the three of you entered the office, you were greeted by an older gentleman who held his hand out to shake.  After getting introductions out of the way, everyone sat.

"It's good to meet you," he said to you.  "Now, we have procedures in place should this event ever occur, but we've never had to use them.  Mr. Stark is waiting in a conference room upstairs, very eager to meet you.  He insisted on meeting you first before we go about anything else."

"Wait, I'm meeting him today?  I'm not prepared," you said, internally, and a bit externally, panicking.  You smoothed down your clothes and fussed with your hair.  If you had known you were going to be meeting your dad today, you would have done more when getting ready.

The other lawyer began to reassure you.  "Mr. Stark isn't looking for anything out of this meeting.  He just wants to get to know you better.  Talk to you one-on-one, learn about your life.  He feels he's missed out on a great deal by not being there."

You nodded, still a little panicked and thrown for a loop, but you could do this.  You took a deep breath, then another.  "All right.  I'm ready to meet him.  You said one-on-one?"

"Yes," the lawyer said, nodding.  "I'll take you up to the conference room where Mr. Stark is.  Your lawyers can wait here in my office, and we'll talk about compensation.  Mr. Stark wishes to cover their legal fees."

You were ecstatic that these men that had been so helpful to you were going to get paid.  You knew that the pro bono work they did didn't keep the lights on.  The layer stood and gestured to the door, so you stood and followed as he led you back to the elevator.  You brushed down your clothes and touched your hair again.

"Now, Mr. Stark can be a bit… enthusiastic," the lawyer warned.

You nodded absentmindedly.  You must get your energy from your father then.  The elevator doors opened into a short hallway with a couple doors on both sides.  The two of you walked to the second door on the left.  The lawyer went to open the door, but you stopped him.  You took two deep breaths, then let him proceed to get the door for you.  You could do this.

"You may return to my office when you're ready to leave, Miss Stark," he said.

You gaped.  This was the first time really being acknowledged as your father's daughter.  It felt right.  Your open-mouthed looked changed to a tiny smile, a light blush on your face.  You nodded your thanks to the lawyer and stepped through the door.

Inside, the room was lit by bright sunlight.  The windows showed a view of Manhattan; not as great a view as you thought the penthouse would have, but still a good view.  Your father was standing by the window, but he didn't look out at the view; no, he was looking at you.

"Hi," he said, not moving closer.  "I guess I'm your dad?  I never expected to have a kid; I don't really know how to be a dad.  I don't even remember making you.  Not to say I regret it, but that I wish I had known sooner.  Cut me off any minute here, kid," he word-vomited.  He looked as nervous and awkward as you felt.  That calmed your nerves a bit.

"Hi," you said softly, fearing that if you said anymore a barrage of words would come out of your mouth just as they did for your dad.

He smiled at you and repeated, "Hi," giving a little wave, his other hand in his pocket.  He wasn't dressed up, which made you feel better about your attire.

It hit you finally that this was your _dad_.  The man that you had barely heard about all your life, but whose absence was keenly felt.  You choked up, tears in your eyes.  One slipped out and rolled down your face.  You ducked your head and sniffled.  A little embarrassed about crying in front of him, you scrubbed your face to remove the evidence of your tears.

"Hey, hey, hey!  Why are you crying?  There's no need to cry!  Everything's fine," your dad said, approaching you, hands out to comfort, but not quite touching you.  The panic was clear on his face.  "What's there to be sad about?"

You sniffed a little harder this time.  "I'm not sad; I'm just _so_ happy," you mumbled.  Now that the tears were dying down, you wiped your face again.  You finally met eyes with your dad and said, “I thought I'd never get to meet you."

"I know, kiddo.  When I heard about you, I was so happy that I was going to get to meet you, too.  I've missed so much of your life so far.  I don't want to miss any more.  I'm not really good at this emotions thing, but I'm going to try for you, okay?"

"Can I hug you?" you asked, not looking at your dad.  A quiet voice in you said you'd be rejected.  He didn't know you; why should he let you hug him.

 He let out a deep breath, not quite a sigh.  "Of course, kid.  You can always hug me."

 So, you did.  And it was great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still looking for suggestions on pairings. So far I've gotten Clint, Matt, and Frank as options for your love interest. Let me know what you're thinking! I'm open to any and all suggestions.
> 
> Please leave a kudos and a comment! I read and reply to every comment I receive; they're much appreciated. Let me know what you liked/didn't like, if you have any constructive criticism, or if there is anything you'd like to see in the future. Thanks so much for reading. I haven't started writing the next chapter, but I have a good amount of free time the next couple days, so the next chapter should be up in two to three days.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice long talk with your dad, and then meeting the Avengers. And is that Steve _again_? What the heck?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took me a bit longer to post than chapter two did, but my little brother was visiting for the weekend to celebrate his birthday (he turned 17! they grow up so fast). This one is the same length as the last one; I didn't manage to add any more words to it. I really tried, but sometimes stories come to good stopping points so that's where you have to end. Promise, I'll really try with the next one to hit 3000 words. Now, without further ado, enjoy the story!

You and your father sat down in quite possibly the comfiest office chairs you've ever felt to talk at the conference table.  You shifted, the chair molding to you in all the right ways, and yep, these are the comfiest chairs you've ever sat in, let alone office chairs.

"Are you living with your mom or are you living on your own?" your dad asked.

You explained about your crappy shoebox apartment in your run-down Brooklyn neighborhood, but how it was all you could afford and that you were proud you didn't have roommates, like so many people you knew.  You were proud of the furniture you managed to find second-hand that was even good quality.  You were proud that you had an actual kitchen set and not one plate, fork, and spoon.  You were proud that your apartment even had curtains and not just blinds!  These things were probably a given to someone like your dad who also probably had his living space decorated by an interior designer, but you weren't your dad.

When you told him these things, there was a look of disconnect on his face, like he was trying to understand the concept of being poor but not _poor_ , but he'd had money all his life.  He was a billionaire for crying out loud!  You knew he didn't understand, but you were grateful he was trying.

"You don't need to keep staying there now," he said.  "You can move into the tower, or I can buy you an apartment near your school.  You wouldn't have to work anymore, just focus on school."

You were grateful for the offer, but you didn't want him to waste money on you, so you told him that.

"Kid, it's not wasting money on you; you're my daughter.  I didn't get to buy you anything the first twenty years of your life; I think you're overdue some Christmas and birthday presents from your old man," he explained, smiling at you.

You thought it over and nodded slowly.  Maybe if you lived at the Tower, he wouldn't be out as much money if he bought you an apartment at school; those were pretty expensive, hence the living in a crappy neighborhood ages away.  Plus, you could see him more often and get to know him better!  But, wait…  "If I moved in here, how would I get to school?  The subway commute is over an hour long from here."

"My driver can take you, or we can get you a car.  Or you can always transfer to Columbia.  I looked into your grades, kid.  I was curious, you know.  You're on the Dean's List, near the top of your class.  Columbia would love to have you," he enthused.  He looked so proud that you were a good student.

"They wouldn't want to take me.  I'm a good student, not a great one," you mumbled, and you honestly believed it.  Tons of people in your classes seemed _way_ smarter than you.

"You're my daughter; they'd be honored to have you go to school there," he insisted.

"I don't want to be accepted there just because I'm your daughter," you nearly shouted, the words you had been thinking coming out of your mouth without your consent.  You looked away, face flushed a bit in shame at yelling, a bit in anger from his words.  The stress of the day was getting to you.  Even though you were happy to finally meet your dad, you'd barely started to get to know each other before he tried to change your whole life.

He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.  "You're right, kiddo.  I'm sorry.  I hated that everything I did was overshadowed by the fact that I was the _great_ Howard Stark's kid when I was your age.  I need to give you space to make a name for yourself."  He looked a little defeated and honestly apologetic; you could tell he had just been trying to help.

"I'm sorry, too," you said.  "I just- I've been used to being independent most of my life.  It's not that I'm not grateful for all you're offering me; it's that I'm not used to having someone to rely on like this.  And we just met; I'm still trying to get used to this!  I've only known you're my dad for a week!  Things are just stressful."  You sighed, glad to have explained but worried you were going to upset him.  You didn't want to meet his eyes, so you looked at your hands in your lap.

He put a hand on your shoulder and ducked his head in an effort to meet your eyes instead.  "It's okay.  I know this is stressful.  It's stressful for me too!  I'm trying so hard not to disappoint you now.  I want to be a better dad than my dad was."  When you glanced up, head still tilted down, and met his eyes, he smiled at you.  You smiled back.

He changed the subject, "How about we talk about something else.  How do you like those lawyers of yours?"

You smiled wider, happy to talk about something so light-hearted.  "Mr. Nelson and Mr. Murdock are so nice.  I actually got them recommended to me by the secretary in the lobby downstairs.  I couldn't afford to hire a lawyer, but they took my case for free!  And their secretary Karen is such a nice lady.  I appreciate everything they've done for me," you told him.

"Maybe I'll have to hire them to work for me," your dad said jokingly.

You laughed and said, "But in all seriousness, they don't seem like the kind of people to give up what they're doing for money."

"I know," he told you.  "I looked into them.  Wanted to make sure you had good lawyers," he said as an aside.  "They were both offered positions at a top law firm, but they turned it down to open Nelson and Murdock.  They'll keep going until they can't anymore, and even then, I think they'll still keep going."

The conversation flowed for about two more hours before he looked at his watch.  "We've been up here for a while.  How do you feel about sending your lawyers back to their office, and you can come meet everyone?"  You had totally forgotten Mr. Nelson and Mr. Murdock were still sitting downstairs waiting for your return.

You looked at him like a deer in headlights.  "Everyone who?"

Everyone happened to be your father's girlfriend, Pepper, and the Avengers.  Your dad said everyone was gathered for a late lunch.  The first person he actually introduced you to was Jarvis.

"J, say hello to my daughter," your dad said when you two entered the elevator to go upstairs.  You were confused; there was no one there.

You jumped when a disembodied voice said, "Hello, Miss Stark.  My name is Jarvis.  I am here to assist you."  The strange disembodied voice sounded British.

Your dad just smiled at you when you looked at him and tilted his head forward as if to say, 'Go on.'

"Hello, Jarvis?"  You were beyond confused.  "Who are you?"

"I am Mister Stark's personal AI.  I am wired throughout the personal floors and in the elevators."

An AI?  "That's so cool!  You're so cool, Jarvis!" you exclaimed.

"Thank you, Miss Stark."  He sounded a little flustered; if AIs could blush, you think he would be.  The elevator came to a stop, and he said, "We have arrived at the communal floor, Miss Stark."

Your dad looked over at you.  "I think he likes you more than me," he said to you.  Then he spoke to Jarvis, playfully teasing, "Traitor."  You smiled at him.

Jarvis spoke up, "The Avengers are gathered in the kitchen preparing lunch.  Ms. Potts is currently in a meeting; she will be finished shortly."

"Thanks, J," your dad replied.

You could hear voices drifting from the kitchen, mostly male ones, but you heard a female voice too; these must be the Avengers you were hearing.  Just before you reached the doorway, you did as you had when you were about to meet your father; you stopped, took some deep breaths, and braced yourself for the meeting.  Your dad waited patiently for you to prepare yourself.  He had a knowing look on his face.  You nodded to him as a sign you were ready to enter; he nodded back and led the way into the room.

"Hey, everyone," he said calmly.

You looked around at all the unfamiliar faces; the one perched on top of the fridge giving you a scrutinizing look while the others looked curious.  Your eyes caught on a _very_ familiar blond.  "Steve?" you said equal parts confused and flustered.

He said your name in a similar tone.

"Wait.  How do you know my daughter, Capsicle?" you dad blurted out, just as confused as you.

Everyone in the kitchen stopped dead and looked at you.  Apparently, none of them knew they'd be meeting you.

"Your daughter?" you heard two voices ask simultaneously, one being Steve, the other the man on the fridge, also a blond (more of a dirty blond, but whatever).  Correction:  you don't think he told anyone you existed.

"I didn't know you had a daughter, Stark," the female voice you had heard earlier said, one brow raised.  That was the redhead you'd seen Steve with earlier!  She was even prettier up close. 

"Well, when a man loves a woman, or in this case just thinks she's very hot-" he began to say patronizingly.

"Ew, that's my mom you're talking about," you said to him, face scrunched.

He turned to look at you and laughed at the look on your face, then turned back to the others.  "Long story short, I got someone pregnant twenty-one years ago on accident, she had a baby but didn't tell me, and out of the woodwork comes a girl claiming she's my daughter.  One DNA test later, and voila!  I'm a daddy," he explained, gesturing at you throughout his speech.  You smiled and waved at everyone.

The redhead snorted and shook her head.  "Good luck with him, kid."

"I can tell I'm going to need it," you replied, teasing your dad, a smirk on your face.

She stood and walked over to you, hand out.  "Natasha," she said to you, a smile on her face.

You responded in kind.  That seemed to be the cue for everyone else in the room to introduce themselves.  You were surprised they didn't shout them all out at the same time but actually went in an orderly fashion.  The man on the fridge introduced himself as Clint.  The guy at the stove making something that smelled delicious was Bruce.  You knew Steve, and the blond with the long hair next to Steve was Thor.

"A couple of our other members are missing, but you can meet them later," you father said after everyone else spoke.  "Now, I haven't forgotten about you, Cap.  How do you know my daughter?" he asked, possibly trying to seem intimidating?  If he was, though, it was failing miserably, at least, in your opinion.  Steve, however, looked put on the spot.

"We met in the park by school; then we ran into each other again this morning," you intervened, taking the pressure off Steve.

"Is that the only way you know how to meet people, Steve?" Natasha teased.

You made a confused noise, looking at her with your brows furrowed.

"He met one of our auxiliary team members in DC by running laps around him in the park, essentially," she explained to you, then spoke to Steve again.  "I'm surprised Sam put up with you, Rogers."  She smirked at Steve.

"It's cuz Wilson's the only one stupid enough to put up with Cap's shit," broody fridge man - Clint, his name is Clint - said.  Steve gave Clint the look, but Clint just smirked, clearly not feeling threatened at all.

Steve went to retort but was interrupted by Jarvis saying, "Miss Potts's meeting has concluded.  She asked me to inform you that she will be present shortly."

Your stomach fluttered.  What if she didn't like you?  She was your dad's girlfriend; her opinion was important.  Turns out you didn't need to be worried.  When she reached the floor, your dad took you out into the living room area to meet her with a little privacy.  She b-lined to you from the elevator with a warm smile on her face.

"Hi.  It's so nice to meet you!  This entire situation was pretty unexpected, but that's every day with Tony.  You learn to roll with the punches," she said to you.  She was earnest; you liked that.

"It's nice to meet you too, Pepper," you said, returning her smile.  You didn't know what else to say to her.

"Good!  Now that we've gotten that out of the way, who's hungry?" your dad interjected.

"Tony!" Pepper exclaimed.  "We've barely said two words to each other."

You looked at Pepper and said, "It's fine.  I'm ready to eat.  I didn't eat breakfast today, so I'm getting pretty hungry."  You were beginning to notice that your dad was uncomfortable around awkward or emotional situations; honestly, you felt the same way.

The three of you headed back to the kitchen.  Clint was no longer on the fridge but now sitting at the table like a normal person.  Lunch went well, and the conversation flowed easily between the Avengers.  After a couple minutes of listening in, you felt comfortable enough to begin chiming in.  You didn't know a lot about some of the topics, like the quantum physics (maybe?) that your dad and Bruce were talking about, but you enjoyed what you heard.

Sadly, after lunch you had a late afternoon class that you had to get to; you didn't want to leave, and you were pretty sure that your dad felt the same.  You said goodbye to all the Avengers; many responding that they hoped to see your soon, Clint just giving this smile/nod combo that you figured meant the same thing.  You left the room to say goodbye to your dad privately.  The two of you hugged tightly near the elevators.

Your dad handed you an ID card similar to the visitor's pass you had received earlier that day but a little fancier.  "This will let you skip security and get straight on the elevators.  Come by tomorrow.  I'm going to get you a better phone and make sure you have everyone's numbers.  Now be safe getting back," he told you.

"Yeah, I'll be careful," you said, smiling at him, then ducked in for another hug.  "Bye!"

He responded in kind quietly, just as the elevator doors were closing.

You day-dreamed all the way to school and throughout class, the time passing quickly.  Looking at your notebook after class made you notice that you probably had more doodles than notes from the lecture you'd just attended.  On the bus ride back to your apartment, you realized today was one of the best days you'd had ever.  You feel asleep that night with a smile on your face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a [Tumblr](https://myreaderinserts.tumblr.com/) now for my reader insert fics! I actually write a lot of really crappy ones that just sit on my hard drive, so I'm thinking about polishing them up and posting them on there for people to read. The only thing up there right now is this story, though, so if you're happy reading this story here on AO3, you don't need to check it out.
> 
> Please leave a kudos and a comment! I read and reply to every comment I receive; they're much appreciated. Let me know what you liked/didn't like, if you have any constructive criticism, or if there is anything you'd like to see in the future (LIKE PAIRINGS, HINT HINT; current suggestions include Clint Barton, Matt Murdock, Frank Castle, and America Chavez). Thanks so much for reading. I'm a little iffy on when the next chapter will be up, but it won't be longer than the gap between the last chapter and this one.


End file.
